I will be holding my third Open Studio on weekends 1&2 and 8&9 of July.

​Over those weekends I will be exhibiting some of my latest works, and am available for a chat from 11am -6pm on all four days. Cambridge Open Studios has long been a Cambridge institution, with the city and environs offering hundreds of working artists who open their homes to the public, with works available to buy.

WORKSHOP IS FULLY BOOKED....What makes a good portrait? Likeness? Expression? Mood? Detail? Beauty as they say is in the eye of the beholder, but in this workshop we will look at number of techniques and considerations involved in creating a dynamic large-scale portrait in charcoal.While working in black and white can simplify the process, a number of subtle techniques are required in taking a drawing from personal photograph to a finished and ready-to-frame piece of art. There is much more to this than one person and their stick of charcoal.

I will bring a number of my own works, photographs and preparatory pieces as reference. Please bring 2 or 3 portrait photographs to be looked at critically, considering images that can offer a variety of ingredients, including (but not necessarily all) light and shade, areas of detail, mood, facial expression and most importantly, how the finished piece will look on the wall. I will provide a number of my own black and white photos for those without.

Who should attend? This is for artists who enjoy working from photographs in a clean, patient manner.

WHAT TO BRING. Large white paper, ideally no smaller than A2 and a drawing board to match. Charcoal/charcoal pencils, pencils, erasers/pencil eraser, ruler (ideally large), fixative.www.cambridgedrawingsociety.org